Sudden power outage 10 times, indicator 2, machinery damaged, company complains

Speaking to VietNamNet, Mr. Dang Van Nga, representative of a mineral exploitation enterprise in Quy Hop district ( Nghe An ), said that the stone exploitation and processing chain has been greatly affected by the continuous power outages in recent days. The enterprise has not yet been able to calculate the damage caused by power outages and time restrictions on electricity use.

“Two days ago, the power company cut off power from 5pm to 9pm. One day, the factory was asked to reduce power usage by 50%. The company announced that if the regulations were not followed, the entire factory would be cut off.

Today, the factory's capacity was also required to be reduced by 30%, if not implemented, the power will be cut off" - Mr. Nga said about the warning from the electricity industry of Quy Hop district.

According to Mr. Nga, the electricity industry requires the factory to reduce its capacity to operate continuously for the next 3 days, after which the power outage will be scheduled. He must comply with all requests for the factory to reduce its power usage. In case of a power outage, the factory will suffer huge losses.

A stone cutting machine had to stop working due to a sudden power outage in Quy Hop district, Nghe An. Photo: Quoc Huy

“Sometimes, the power is cut off without notice. We only get notice of the power cut schedule after we report it. The first consequence is that workers are out of work and orders cannot be shipped in time. The power outage causes the entire chain and factory system from mining, production and transportation to consumption to be suspended. Under normal operating conditions, our factory consumes over 30 million VND of electricity per day,” Mr. Nga shared.

Mr. TH, the owner of another stone factory in Quy Hop district, also said that the continuous power outages have greatly affected production. The facility does not dare to accept new orders because of concerns about not being able to meet time requirements.

“There were times when the power company did not notify us and suddenly cut off the power while the machine was running. Out of about 10 power cuts, we only received prior notice twice. The sudden power cut caused damage to the machine, such as warping and damage to the saw blade head,” said Mr. H.

Enterprises in Nghe An are facing difficulties in production due to prolonged power shortages. Photo: QH

Stone processing enterprises need to use electricity continuously but are forced to reduce it due to power shortage. Photo: QH

Over the past few days, the electricity here has been cut off for an average of 30 minutes to an hour each day, with a maximum of about 5 hours. Residential areas have power outages almost every night, while industrial areas have less.

“Each time the stone grinding machine is started, the whole production line consumes electricity at a cost of up to 20-30 million VND. The stone cutting machines alone, when in operation, are cut off, causing damage to the entire production line,” said Mr. H.

Continuous power outages make it impossible for businesses to be proactive in their work. Every day, 50 workers have to take time off work, the production line is disrupted, causing great damage to the business and making it difficult to arrange daily staff.

The demand for generators is very high in apartment buildings and restaurants in Nghe An. Photo: MH

Refueling the generator during a sudden power outage. Photo: MH

Mr. HT, the owner of a restaurant in Vinh City, said that the rotating power outages over the past few days have affected the restaurant's production and business activities. The cost of buying gasoline and oil to keep the engine running has caused the total cost to increase.

“In order for the restaurant to operate during hot days with a high risk of power outages, we proactively bought a generator worth more than 200 million VND. However, the disadvantages of using a generator are the loud noise, the smell of gasoline and many other disadvantages. Using a generator is a last resort,” said Mr. T.

Mr. Dau Dinh Hop - Director of Quy Hop District Electricity (Nghe An) admitted that 2-3 days ago, there was an incident where power outages in some places in the area were not announced in advance, but "this is beyond the control of Quy Hop District Electricity".

According to Mr. Hop, that was because 3 days ago, when people's electricity demand increased, Nghe An province's electricity department proactively cut off power to reduce the load.

"Up to now, the power outage schedule has been announced to people and businesses to be proactive in production as well as daily life. Quy Hop Electricity recommends that people and businesses use electricity economically," said Mr. Hop.

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